Presently dispersion-strengthened copper is manufactured in sizable quantity. The leading brand, made by SCM Corporation, is sold under the trademark GLIDCOP.RTM.. Because of its many valuable characteristics such copper now finds a variety of industrial uses. These include applications in resistance welding electrodes, electrical connectors, and transistor assemblies. Typically, the commercial product now contains approximately 200 ppm available oxygen. However, even this low-oxygen content impairs its utility for many electrical and electronic uses, bondings and brazing connections. U.S. patents and pending patent applications of that corporation which relate to the preparation and applications of dispersion-strengthened copper include: U.S. Pat Nos. 3,779,714; 3,884,676; 3,893,844; 4,045,644; 4,077,816; 4,110,130; and 4,274,873; Ser. No. 64,371 of Aug. 7, 1979 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,777 dated Feb. 16, 1982; and Ser. No. 146,140 of May 2, 1980 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,770 dated Feb. 16, 1982. The disclosure of all nine of these patents are incorporated herein expressly by reference.
Heretofore it has been proposed to deoxygenate a dispersion-strengthened copper part such as a strip by packing the part in elemental boron powder, then heating it at elevated temperature below the melting point of copper until the boron diffuses into the solid metal lattice, reacts with the residual oxygen therein, and substantially saturates the copper with elemental boron (U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,667). Resulting exemplary substantially completely deoxidized, dispersion-hardened strips were stated to resist hydrogen embrittlement. To conduct such deoxidation operation in a reasonable time clearly would require that the dispersion-strengthened copper part be quite small in cross section.
Advantages of the instant invention over such prior proposal include a better utilization of boron, the ability to use other oxygen getters effectively, improved process control, and the production of oxygen-free, dispersion-strengthened copper stock efficiently in larger cross sections than would be practical when following this prior teaching. Advantages of the instant product over present commercial dispersion-strengthened copper include its substantially better dutility, formability, and brazing properties.